Let's Take a Stab At the 53-Man Roster

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Today is the deadline to cut NFL rosters down to 75 guys, which the Cowboys did Monday. On Saturday, all NFL rosters must be cut down to their final 53-man group, and after consulting some other media superstars along with my own man-sized brain, here's what your Dallas Cowboys should look like come Saturday.

Quarterbacks — Give me three. There's no real suspense here as Tony Romo and Jon Kitna are locks as the top two quarterbacks. Stephen McGee is pretty much a lock as well as the No. 3. The Cowboys love his potential.

Wide receivers — This is probably the deepest, and trickiest position to map out on the team. The Cowboys could opt to keep five or six. Again, I think Deon Anderson could factor in here if they opt to keep six, but as it stands, we'll say 5. Miles Austin, Roy Williams, Dez Bryant and Patrick Crayton are all no-brainers. That last spot is between Kevin Ogletree, Sam Hurd and Jesse Holley. Ogletree's cheaper, but I think the Cowboys were hoping to see more from him in the preseason than he showed. Hurd is a bit more experienced, but has also been disappointing. Give me Ogletree.

Now, we're at 13.

Tight ends — If Anderson wasn't a special teams star, he might be on the chopping block in favor of a third tight end. But with John Phillips' ACL injury, it leaves the Cowboys with Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett.

Now, 15.

Offensive line — What a train wreck this has been so far in the preseason with Kyle Kosier and Marc Colombo both suffering injuries that forced them to miss basically all of the preseason and possibly the Redskins game. But this is pretty cut and dried — Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo, Doug Free, Sam Young, Phil Costa, Kyle Kosier, Alex Barron, Robert Brewster and Montrae Holland.

And, we're already almost half-way there with 25 players.

Nose tackles — Two will stay, but I like three. Jay Ratliff is a lock. Then there's Josh Brent and Junior Siavii, both of whom I like a lot. I can't really separate them, but just know one of them will be here and one of them won't.

Defensive ends — We'll keep four. Marcus Spears has had the injury bug throughout the preseason, but should be ready for Washington. Add in Igor Olshansky, Jason Hatcher and Stephen Bowen.

Cornerbacks — This is one of the most talented units on the team. Four will be kept. Terrence Newman, Mike Jenkins, Cletis Gordon and Orlando Scandrick.

Now we're at 44.

Safeties — We talked about this Monday with Watkins' cut. This is an EXTREMELY inexperienced unit, which should be some concern. Gerald Sensabaugh and Alan Ball are the only experienced players in the group. They'll also keep Mike Hamlin, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Danny McCray and Barry Church, who's strong preseason play made Watkins expendable.

Make that 50.

Special teams — The biggest locks on the squad: Mat McBriar, David Buehler and L.P. Ladouceur, as JJ finally has a three-man specialist unit instead of those crazy four-man units of the past few years.